Welcome to Shabbat with Charlene: Reflecting on Yakov's Famous Dream

This week's parsha is Yaakov, and we know that Yakov Ainu has fled Beeva, running away from the wrath of his bloodthirsty brother Esav. He's on his way to Khan, realizing it's late, he's tired, and he needs to sleep. So, he gathers the stones, creates a pillow for himself, and lies down to sleep. Yakov has a dream, one of the most famous dreams in the Torah, which is a magnificent sight to behold.

In this dream, Yakov sees that there is a ladder with its feet firmly planted on Earth, ascending all the way to Shamayim. In the dream, Yakov sees angels from Hashem ascending and descending the ladder, going up and coming down, going up and coming down. Then, he calls out to Yov Ainu, saying "Hashem is at the top of the ladder." When he says this, Hashem reveals himself to Yakov, calling him his son, his God, the god of Abraham, and the god of Isaac. Hashem promises Yakov that he will return to his land and that it will belong to him and his descendants.

This dream is a reminder to us all that we are on this ladder of life, which sometimes feels like a roller coaster, full of ups and downs. There are times when things are wonderful and we're feeling good, connected to Hashem, and firm on the ladder. But then, there are times when we don't feel like we're going up and we feel like we're going down, with uncertainty, crazy situations, darkness, strange occurrences, and scary moments. It's in those times that we need to remind ourselves of Hashem's promise.

Hashem is holding onto us, reminding us that "I'm your God," the father of all people. He promises us that we will return to our land, which will belong to us and our descendants. Every time we hear news from Eretz Yisrael, it fills us with both joy and fear. We feel a sense of connection to Hashem's promise, remembering what he said to Yakov in his dream. This parsha teaches us that even in difficult times, we should always look up to Hashem, never looking down.

We all feel like we're on this ladder, sometimes up, sometimes down. Sometimes we're feeling good, connected to Hashem, and firm on the ladder. But other times, things are not going as planned, and we don't know what's happening around us. We may be facing health struggles, financial problems, or personal challenges that make us feel lost and alone.

However, this is where Hashem steps in, reminding us of his promise to return us to our land. He tells us that he's holding onto us, no matter what happens, that we will always return to him. This is a message of comfort and hope, reassuring us that even in the darkest moments, Hashem is with us. When we're feeling down, it's essential to remember that Hashem is our God, our father, our protector.

This parsha also reminds us that there are no situations in this world that are beyond Hashem's help. Whether we're facing challenges or difficulties, we can always turn to Hashem for guidance and support. When we feel like we're not on the right path, when things seem uncertain, all we need to do is look up to Hashem and remember his promise.

So, let us take a lesson from Yakov's dream, remembering that we are on this ladder of life together with Hashem. Let us always look up to Him, never looking down. When we feel lost or alone, let us call out to Hashem, remembering His promise to return us to our land and make it ours for all eternity. With Hashem by our side, we can face any challenge that comes our way, knowing that He is always with us, guiding and supporting us every step of the way.

May we all be like Yakov, trusting in Hashem's promise and following His guidance. May we always remember that we are on this ladder of life together with Hashem, and may we never lose sight of His love and care for us. With Hashem's blessing, we can face any challenge that comes our way, knowing that He is always with us, holding onto us and guiding us towards our ultimate destiny in Eretz Yisrael, the land of our forefathers.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwelcome to shabbat with Charlene this week's para is para we know that Yakov ainu has fled beeva he's running away from the wrath of his bloodthirsty brother esav he's on his way to Khan he realizes it's late he's tired he needs to sleep so he gathers the stones creates a pillow for himself he lies down and he goes to sleep Yakov has a dream a very famous dream one of the most famous dreams in the Torah yakob ainu sees that there is a ladder with the feet firmly planted on Earth ascending all the way to shamay and in the dream Yakov sees there are angels from Hashem ascending and descending the ladder going up and coming down going up and coming down and thenes himself calls out to yov ainu Hashem is at the top of the ladder and he calls down and he says I'm here I'm your father I'm your God I'm the god of Abraham I'm the god of is and I am your God I'm your father in Heaven I promise you you will return to your land and I promise you it will belong to you and your descendants and Yakov wakes up now that is a magnificent dream to have and I can't tell you how much I love the timing of this dream this para to our current events when I think of this lad and the fact that there are angels ascending and descending and that himself is at the top of the ladder it really just reminds me we are all on this ladder of Life which sometimes feels like a roller coaster sometimes things are wonderful and we're going up we're ascending we're feeling good we're connected we're close to Hashem we're firm on the ladder everything's wonderful we feel Hashem holding us tight but then there are times like our current situation with the sarot and cl that we don't feel like we're on the up and up we feel like we're going down and things are so uncertain and crazy and confusing and dark and strange and scary and and what is going on around us it's those times that we're on the go on The Descent that we have to remind ourselves of hashem's Promise Hashem is holding the lad Hashem is holding onto the lad from sham reminding us I'm your God I'm the father of all of you I am the god of Abraham of Y and yob I promise you you will all return to your land and I promise you the land will be for you and your descendants every time news comes out of er that is so heartbreaking and so terrifying I think of this promise that Hashem gave to yakob in the dream every one of us feels like we're on this ladder some days we're up some days we're down some days we're feeling really good some days we are terrified and we do not feel close to Hashem sometimes we are having a yura sometimes we are just feeling low sometimes things don't go our way there are Health struggles there are parnasa problems there could be shom bite problems we're not always going up but this is hashem's reminder to us I got you I'm holding your ladder and no matter what happens no matter how many times you go up and come down go up and come down I give you my guarantee you will all return to your land and it will be yours for all of eternity that really warms my heart and that really gives me such a sense of and comfort knowing that with all that's going on in the world with our own personal struggles as well as what we're all going through as a claw CLA Isel is promised we will return to our land and it will be ours for all of eternity so with that we should constantly remind ourselves that Hashem is there is no situation in this world that is beyond the help of Hashem and every time we feel like we're not going in the right direction just remind ourselves hashem's holding our ladder look up Don't look down we're not going in that direction look up raise your eyes up to shamayim and call out to and d and in that hashem's promise to Abraham and yob come true very very soon may we all be Z to return to our homeland to our promised land with the coming of mhia shalomwelcome to shabbat with Charlene this week's para is para we know that Yakov ainu has fled beeva he's running away from the wrath of his bloodthirsty brother esav he's on his way to Khan he realizes it's late he's tired he needs to sleep so he gathers the stones creates a pillow for himself he lies down and he goes to sleep Yakov has a dream a very famous dream one of the most famous dreams in the Torah yakob ainu sees that there is a ladder with the feet firmly planted on Earth ascending all the way to shamay and in the dream Yakov sees there are angels from Hashem ascending and descending the ladder going up and coming down going up and coming down and thenes himself calls out to yov ainu Hashem is at the top of the ladder and he calls down and he says I'm here I'm your father I'm your God I'm the god of Abraham I'm the god of is and I am your God I'm your father in Heaven I promise you you will return to your land and I promise you it will belong to you and your descendants and Yakov wakes up now that is a magnificent dream to have and I can't tell you how much I love the timing of this dream this para to our current events when I think of this lad and the fact that there are angels ascending and descending and that himself is at the top of the ladder it really just reminds me we are all on this ladder of Life which sometimes feels like a roller coaster sometimes things are wonderful and we're going up we're ascending we're feeling good we're connected we're close to Hashem we're firm on the ladder everything's wonderful we feel Hashem holding us tight but then there are times like our current situation with the sarot and cl that we don't feel like we're on the up and up we feel like we're going down and things are so uncertain and crazy and confusing and dark and strange and scary and and what is going on around us it's those times that we're on the go on The Descent that we have to remind ourselves of hashem's Promise Hashem is holding the lad Hashem is holding onto the lad from sham reminding us I'm your God I'm the father of all of you I am the god of Abraham of Y and yob I promise you you will all return to your land and I promise you the land will be for you and your descendants every time news comes out of er that is so heartbreaking and so terrifying I think of this promise that Hashem gave to yakob in the dream every one of us feels like we're on this ladder some days we're up some days we're down some days we're feeling really good some days we are terrified and we do not feel close to Hashem sometimes we are having a yura sometimes we are just feeling low sometimes things don't go our way there are Health struggles there are parnasa problems there could be shom bite problems we're not always going up but this is hashem's reminder to us I got you I'm holding your ladder and no matter what happens no matter how many times you go up and come down go up and come down I give you my guarantee you will all return to your land and it will be yours for all of eternity that really warms my heart and that really gives me such a sense of and comfort knowing that with all that's going on in the world with our own personal struggles as well as what we're all going through as a claw CLA Isel is promised we will return to our land and it will be ours for all of eternity so with that we should constantly remind ourselves that Hashem is there is no situation in this world that is beyond the help of Hashem and every time we feel like we're not going in the right direction just remind ourselves hashem's holding our ladder look up Don't look down we're not going in that direction look up raise your eyes up to shamayim and call out to and d and in that hashem's promise to Abraham and yob come true very very soon may we all be Z to return to our homeland to our promised land with the coming of mhia shalom\n"